


Wrapped Up

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [29]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s05e10 2001, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 13:10:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17581469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: Jack remains a half-step behind Sam as she slowly makes her way across the parking lot of the SGC. Her left ankle is badly swollen and she’s finding it difficult to walk, but her other injuries leave her unable to use crutches and she all together refuses the use of a chair to get to his truck.





	Wrapped Up

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 'Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day'. This fic didn’t go the way I thought it would, to be honest... Episode tag for season 5 ‘2001’.

Jack remains a half-step behind Sam as she slowly makes her way across the parking lot of the SGC. Her left ankle is badly swollen and she's finding it difficult to walk, but her other injuries leave her unable to use crutches and she all together refuses the use of a chair to get to his truck.

Personally, Jack thinks she should still be in the infirmary, but Janet has already kept her in one night for observation and, as no further signs of concussion emerged, she was willing to discharge Sam – on the provision that she actually went home for a week to rest. The doctor's ultimatum saw the rest of SG-1 agree to keep an eye on their teammate, with the colonel – naturally – taking the first shift.

He tells himself that his decision to be the one to drive Carter home is the same decision he would make for Daniel or Teal'c, because that's what a good and concerned commanding officer should do, right?

_Right._

An elbow to his side distracts him and he instinctively reaches out for Sam as she stumbles forward.

"Sorry, sir," she mumbles.

"It's fine, Carter. We're almost there."

He holds onto her arm for a moment longer and gives it a gentle squeeze before he lets his hand fall by his side. He risks another glance as she starts to move again and sighs.

 _She's alive,_ he tells himself. _A little broken and bruised, but alive._

He tries to bite back his anger. He had voiced his distrust of the Aschen to General Hammond shortly after their first meeting with Mollem; and he'd been right – yet again – with his judgment, regardless of what Kinsey had told the bureaucrats in Washington. He had also insisted on going with Carter and the Ambassador on the last trip through the gate, but Kinsey had interfered and dictated otherwise. That's when Jack's instincts really kicked in and he'd had a _really_ bad feeling regarding the mission. And it turned out he had every reason to. The Ambassador didn't make it back to Earth and Carter – well, she was thrown out of the Stargate that hard and fast, Jack was surprised she'd only come away with a broken clavicle, bruised ribs and a sprained ankle.

He's hit with images of Sam being flung out of the Stargate and the clanging and how the sound reverberated as her body hit the ramp a number of times before she landed in a heap at his feet. He briefly thinks about going back to Hammond and suggesting a damper for the gate room – like coating the ramp in bubble wrap or some kind of absorbent cotton – but he pushes the idea aside when he realizes they've reached his truck. He quickly opens the passenger door and helps Sam onto the seat.

"Put your seatbelt on," he murmurs.

He lets her get comfortable as he throws her bag into the back of the cab, but when he comes to stand beside her again, she's struggling to pull the belt across her body.

"Here, let me." He leans in close, pulls it down and hands it to her. Sam just sighs in response and her breath tickles his face.

"I'm sorry, sir," she whispers.

He feels her eyes burning into the side of his face. Not moving from where he stands, he turns his head, his face just inches from hers. "For what?"

The woman sitting in the front of his truck looks so small and vulnerable that for a moment he thinks it isn't _his_ Carter. But then she looks at him with those eyes and it's her. She's _right there_ and Jack has this fiercely unexplainable urge to protect her. To the point where if he could wrap _her_ up in bubble wrap or wads of cotton to keep her safe, he would – as ridiculous as the idea sounds even to his ears. He knows that Sam can look after herself, and that – injured or not – she'd probably kick his ass if she knew the protective thoughts that were currently going around his head, but he hasn't seen her look this fragile before and it scares him.

"The inconvenience," she finally answers, breaking through his thoughts. She doesn't meet his gaze, but offers him a half-hearted shrug. A movement he knows Sam regrets instantly when it jars her shoulder.

Jack's expression softens, but he resists the temptation to reach out and touch her, especially when her eyes glisten with tears. Instead, he leans infinitesimally closer and holds her gaze, giving the belt a gentle tug.

"You're alive, Sam. That's never an inconvenience."

His honesty surprises her and he waits as she searches his face for something to tell her the words he isn't able to admit out loud.

When a single tear slips down her face, she closes her eyes and he cups her face, the pad of his thumb wiping it away. Sam goes to speak, but he stops her by clicking the seatbelt into place.

"C'mon. Let's get you home."


End file.
